The Twilight Zone
by gypsywriter135
Summary: Raph and Leo fighting? Guaranteed. Mikey and Raph? Most likely. Don and Leo? Known to happen occasionally. Raph and Don? Not unheard of. Mikey and Leo? Rare, but it happens from time to time. Don and Mikey? Well, that's when all shell breaks loose...


I finished a story!!!!!

And it's LONG!

Okay, not long, but longer than a lot of my other one-shots. And it's something that (I think... at least as far as I know...) I've never seen done before!

And, *le gasp* not focusing on Leo??! It's the end of the world!

I told you I wanted to focus on writing about other characters. :) So here's a try at it :) I hope you enjoy it! I personally enjoyed writing it.

**Disclaimer: They aren't mine... no matter how many tantrums I throw...**

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April and Casey stood frozen in the door, staring into the home of their friends. It looked like a tornado had blown through the sewers underneath New York City. There were several appliances strewn throughout the living room, smoke was coming from Donny's lab, and there was a consistent "beeping" sound emitting from the kitchen. Strange and suspicious looking glowing substances covered the couch and there were several spots dotting the walls. The television was showing nothing but static and the DVD collection was piled on the floor.

"Um…" Casey gaped, not sure what was going on.

"You think the Foot found them?" April asked, confusion morphing into worry. She set the box of pizza she was carrying on the ground and cautiously took a step forward into the lair.

"Stop!"

April froze again, and looked around the room for the source of the voice. Her eyes fell on the balcony of the second floor of the small home. Raphael's head peeked out from around the corner.

"April, listen to me very carefully. You too, Casey," he said quietly. "I need you to slowly back up and get away from the door. Can you do that?"

"Raph, what's going on?" April asked, worry increasing every second. Her friend's eyes were wide, something that showed that the normally aggressive turtle was a little out of his element.

"Just do as I say, okay?" Raph hissed.

April nodded and slowly stepped back, stopping when she felt Casey against her back. The couple moved to the side, still keeping an eye on the nervous turtle.

Raph's eyes roamed over the door, then darted to the living room. They flew over Don's lab, then over to the kitchen. He looked behind him, then quickly to the steps, analyzing them. With narrowed eyes, he quickly and quietly crept to the top of the stairs. Running his eyes over the steps, he chose to slide down the banister instead, landing at the bottom in a crouch. He cautiously made his way over to the door.

However, when he reached the end of the rug near the door, he felt something crunch underneath his foot. His eyes widened again and he tensed.

"Aw, shell…" he groaned. Moving faster than April or Casey had ever seen him move before, he flew over the threshold in a red and green blur, coming to stand behind them.

"Raph, what's go-"

"Shh!" Raph, growled, waving his hand for emphasis. He peered around his friends to look at the lair. He saw a shadow moving towards the living room from the dojo.

"Leo!" he whispered.

The figure froze, then a green head poked out from the hallway. "Raph?"

"This way!" Raph hissed, and Leo slipped back into the shadows before making a dash to the door.

But when he got to the rug, there was a sound of something ripping and Leo stumbled, almost losing his balance. At first, April and Casey were confused about what was happening, but when they looked closer, they realized that the rug was actually wrapping itself around Leo's legs.

Leo tumbled to the ground with a small yelp and struggled to get the rug off. He twisted around and scrambled towards the door, but the rug remained firmly wrapped around his right leg.

"Come on, bro!" Raph encouraged, stepping forward to grab Leo's hand. With a final tug, Leo's foot came free and Raph practically dragged him towards the door. When they were safely on the other side, the door slid shut, and the two turtles hunched over, panting for breath.

"That was close," Leo breathed.

"I'll say," Raph replied. He took a deep breath and stood up straight. He noticed April and Casey looking at them. "Hey, guys."

April and Casey simply blinked at them.

"You guys didn't get caught in anything, did you?" Leo asked, concern lacing his voice as he ran a worried eye over their friends.

April shook her head.

"What the heck was that?!" Casey exclaimed. "Did the Foot attack?!"

Leo and Raph looked at each other.

"I think I'd welcome a Foot attack at this point in time…"

"Yeah, anything's better than dealing with _that_…"

"I haven't seen it this bad since… I don't remember… do you?"

Raph shook his head. "I honestly wasn't expecting this…"

"Um… what are you talking about?" Casey interrupted.

Leo and Raph looked back at them. Raph spied the pizza box on the ground. "Did you guys bring pizza?"

April nodded and picked it up. "Well, if it's not a Foot attack, then why don't we go back in and-"

"NO!" Raph and Leo screamed, eyes wide.

"We just got out and you wanna go back in?!" Raph cried.

"Why don't we just go to your place," Leo suggested. "If you don't mind, that is…."

"No, it's fine," Casey said.

April nodded.

Raph let out a relieved sigh and followed Leo down the sewer tunnel.

"Leo…" he said softly.

"Hmm…?"

"You're bleeding…"

Leo stopped and turned around to look at his brother. "What?"

Raph stepped forward and put his hand on the back of the blue banded turtle's head. Leo hissed and when Raph pulled his hand away, there was a smear of blood on his palm.

"You must have bumped it when you fell," April suggested, coming up and turning Leo's head to inspect the wound. "It looks superficial, but we had better get it cleaned and make sure you don't have a concussion. I've got first aid at home."

Raph nodded. "Thanks, April." He turned to Leo. "You gonna be okay?"

Leo nodded, then winced slightly. Raph moved closer in worry, but Leo waved him off. "I'm fine. Just a little headache, that's all."

The younger turtle didn't seem so sure. Leo sighed. "I promise to say something if I feel worse, okay?"

Still not completely convinced, Raph nodded all the same.

"Come on, guys," Casey said, taking the lead. "The sooner we get home, the sooner you can tell us exactly what the shell is going on…."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raph lowered Leo into the chair at the table in April and Casey's apartment.

"Gimme your bandana," he ordered, and Leo carefully peeled his blue mask away from his face, hissing as the dried blood cracked around his wound, and handed it to his brother. Raph wandered over to the sink and began to rinse it, trying to get the blood off. April walked in with a first aid kit.

"This might sting a little, Leo," she said, putting the kit on the table and opening it. She rummaged through it for a few seconds before producing a bottle of liquid. She poured some of it on a washcloth she had with her, and moved to stand behind the injured turtle. "I'll make it quick."

Leo nearly jumped and let out a soft hiss and the anit-bacterial medicine made contact with his cut. He gripped the arms of the chair tightly.

"Sorry," April apologized. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Leo ground out through his clenched teeth.

Casey came into the kitchen just as Raph hung up his brother's mask to dry and put the pizza on the table. Raph opened it, grabbed a slice and sat down.

"So, what's going on back at the lair?" Casey asked.

"And where are Mikey and Don?" April asked, gently scrubbing Leo's head.

"Mikey and Donny _are_ what happened to the lair," Raph mumbled. He shivered slightly.

Casey looked at his best friend. "What do ya mean by that?"

"He means what he said," Leo grunted.

"Shut your mouth if you can't say anything nice, Leo," Raph said gently.

Casey looked between the two brothers, then shared a look with his girlfriend. "What the shell is goin on?!" he nearly yelled.

"Don and Mike are fighting," Raph growled, taking a bit of pizza. "Making Leo nuts and me nervous."

April paused for a moment. "Don and Mike never fight…."

"Oh, yes they do!" Leo exclaimed. He turned around to look at April. "And once they start, everything goes to shell!"

"You see, April," Raph intervened, trying to calm his brother. "Don and Mike usually agree on a lot of stuff. And if they annoy each other, the other usually just goes with it, and all is forgotten. But, like this week, when Donny's working on something intricate, and Mikey's in a mood, and they cross paths…." He shivered again. "It's not pretty."

"So what happened?" April asked, taking some gauze from the white box and beginning to apply it to Leo's head.

"Well, it all started Monday evening…."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don was hunched over his lab desk, Bunsen burner aflame and magnification goggles firmly in place. He had his tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he moved the test tube he was heating over the flame, making sure the heat got distributed evenly throughout.

A knock on the door interrupted the silence.

"Come back later," he called, focusing his attention back to the task at hand.

He heard the door squeak open in protest. _I really gotta start locking that thing…_ he thought.

"I'm kinda busy," he told the intruder.

"Donny?"

Don mentally groaned. _Mikey_. "I said I'm busy, Mike."

"Yeah, but this is important."

"Then hang on for a sec. I gotta get this to boil…."

There was silence for a few moments in which Don concentrated intently on his experiment. Then…

"How much longer?"

Don closed his eyes for a brief second. "Mike, can't this wait?"

"…"

Silence for a few more minutes.

"Almost done?"

Don snorted in frustration before putting the test tube on the rack beside him, turning off the gas and shutting the flame off, and turning to face his brother.

"What, Mikey? What is _so important_ you can't wait ten minutes?"

Michelangelo sent him a look, then held up his gaming console. "It froze again. Can you fix it?"

Don stared at him, jaw dropped. "That's it?" he asked. "That's it?"

Mikey glared at him. "What'd you mean, 'that's it?' I was nearly to the seventy-eighth level! Do you know how much time and effort I needed to get there?!"

Don glared right back. "Mike, I'm busy. Leave on the counter and I'll fix it when I get done here." He turned his back and picked up his test tube again.

Bad idea.

His chair was suddenly flipped around and he was face-to-face with an angry little brother. His test tube went flying and shattered on the ground, its liquid spilling out. "Fix it." Mikey breathed.

Don exploded. "Do you realize what you've just done?!" he yelled. "That sample took me three months to collect, and you just destroyed all of the research I planned on doing!"

"And I just spent the past three days leveling up in this stupid game!" Mikey countered. "There's nothing else to entertain me if the cable shorted, Don! What the shell am I supposed to do if you don't fix this stupid thing?!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe pick up a book and try to read. I say try because I know your under-developed brain might have trouble picking out the words. Therefore, I recommend a nice picture book."

Mikey's face showed pure anger. "Listen, _Donatello_," he hissed, poking his brother in the chest. "Just because I don't like the same books you do, and comic books are more my style, doesn't mean I'm not smart."

Don smirked. "Is that so, _Michelangelo_?"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"If you were smart, you wouldn't have to ask."

"We'll see, Don. We'll see who the smart one is…" And with that, Mikey chucked his game console on the ground and stormed from the lab.

Don shook his head and went to work cleaning his lab and trying to salvage the remains of his experiment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later, Don emerged from his lab and stretched his arms. He yawned and made his way to the fridge, passing Raph on the way.

"Hey, what'd you do to Mikey?" he asked.

Don scowled. "I didn't do anything. _He_ was the one who messed up my experiment. My _three month long_ experiment!"

Raph blinked. "Whoa, someone needs coffee… I'm just sayin' 'cause he seemed pretty upset earlier. Disappeared in the dojo and haven't seen 'im since."

Don shrugged and opened the fridge. "Where's Leo?"

Raph shrugged. "Went out to see Master Splinter off. Should be back soon, I guess."

Don nodded and brought out a carton of orange juice. He grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured himself some. When it hit the glass, however, it turned a nasty shade of purple. Don blinked.

"Uh… Raph…?" he asked. His brother came over to inspect the damage.

"Huh…." The taller turtle muttered. "This is new. I haven't seen anything like this before…"

Don held the glass up to eye level. "What'd you think it is…? Is there something wrong with the juice, or the glass?"

"Can't be the juice," Raph shook his head. "Mikey came out before going to the dojo with… a glass…"

Raph shared a knowing look with Don before the sound of footsteps alerted them to the arrival of a third brother.

"Oh, Raph," Mikey said as he entered the kitchen and deposited a glass in the sink. "I should warn you not to use the cups in the upper cabinet on the right. I heard something was wrong with 'em." And he strolled out and up to his room.

Don glared after him. "Why that…"

Raph looked at Don and started backing away.

Don marched up to his brother and looked him in the eyes, a feat, considering Raph was a little less than a head taller than him. "He thinks he so smart? I'll give him smart…" And stalked off back to his lab.

Raph blinked and watched him go. He heard the lab door slam shut, and the front door slide open. He saw Leo stop the moment the older turtle entered the lair. He spotted Raph.

"Raph, what's going on?" he asked. "What happened?"

Raph shook his head. "Bro," he said quietly. "I think World War III just broke out…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leo and Raph were sitting at the kitchen table when it happened.

Mikey screamed and came running in, looking furious. "WHERE IS HE?!" he screamed.

There was a whistling sound and three heads turned to see Don coming out from the shower. He gave Mikey an evil grin and headed to his room.

Mikey growled. "So that's how you're gonna play…"

Leo and Raph exchanged a look.

"Uh… Mike?" Leo treaded carefully. "What's going-"

"If he thinks he can away with putting invisible ink in all my comic books, he's got another thing coming!" He ran out of the kitchen and slammed the door to his room.

Leo sighed and Raph groaned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, while Don was fixing the remote in the living room, it seemed to explode, covering himself and the walls with a gooey green substance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The day after that, Mikey's skateboard somehow found itself hovering above the lair, no strings attached.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later, Don was trying to heat something in the microwave. But no matter what happened, the machine always went off at five second intervals.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the morning, as Mickey was making toast, the toaster promptly refused to release the bread. Mikey was forced to use a fire extinguisher and threw the appliance into the living room as he stalked to his room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Don was typing up a report on the computer, it suddenly started displaying inappropriate pictures of women all over the screen. A bar came up with a turtle that kept saying "Cowabuga!" Don threw Mikey's game console through the screen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mikey wanted to watch a movie. As he knelt in front of the stack of DVDs, the player suddenly shot out several discs at the unsuspecting turtle.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don found his bo part of Klunk's litter box.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mikey's missing nunchuck was seen wrapped in sausage covering in the fridge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leo and Raph hid in their rooms or the dojo, too afraid to come out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Don went to use the bathroom, he ended up having water shoot up at him in the face…. From the toilet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mikey's paint set acquired a new set of paints… unfortunately, they had glue in them and stuck to the paintbrush.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next time Don enters the shower, he'll make sure there's not superglue on the handles in the stall…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mikey will never look at the "Wolfman" the same way again after Don altered the tape a bit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don's notebook seemed to grow teeth overnight, and wont let go of his bandana tails.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don spent all night rigging the rug to grab the nearest object… especially if it's a green foot....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was silence as April and Casey stared at the turtles, no sure whether to believe their story or not. Leo's yawned sleepily. Raph sat back in his chair, leaning on the two back legs.

"That seems a little far-fetched," April said slowly.

"S'true," Leo mumbled. "Mike can get pretty creative when he wants to be."

Raph nodded. "And Donny's a force to be reckoned with when he gets mad anyways. Adding in the fact of revenge just makes it worse."

Casey looked confused. "How much longer 'till their done?"

"How longs it been, Raph?" Leo asked, looking at his brother.

"Four days, I think," came the reply. "They should be done soon." He stood up. "Come on, bro. Let's go see if we can sneak back to our rooms."

Leo nodded and stood as well. "I think I'll bunk with you tonight. I don't want either one of them coming into my room while I'm alone at night…."

April and Casey stood and walked them back to the sewers, following as they made their way down the tunnels.

"So… why are fights between Don and Mike like this?" April asked as they walked.

"Mike and Don run on the same wavelength," Raph explained. "Both laid back, slow to anger. Both can take a good joke."

"But when they but heads with anyone else, it's something to be reckoned with," Leo put in, ducking under a pipe.

"But Don's gotten mad at Mikey before," April pointed out.

"And Mikey's gotten upset with Don," Casey added. "How's this any different?"

"When that happens, only one is mad at the other," Leo said. "This time, both are mad at each other."

"They each think themselves are right, and neither will admit of being in the wrong," Raph replied. "I just hope they stop before they tear the lair apart."

"And Master Splinter comes back…." Leo muttered. "Thanks for fixing my head, April. And for the pizza."

They had reached the front door.

"No problem," April said. "You gonna be okay?"

Leo and Raph nodded. "Once we get to my room, we'll be fine. Neither of those two are dumb enough to go in there."

"That spot's reserved for me," Leo grinned. Raph snickered.

"Okay," April laughed. "We'll just make sure you make it to Raph's room, then we'll go."

Leo nodded and turned to Raph. "You ready?"

Raph nodded. "Let's get this over with."

They both took a deep breath and opened the front door…

And everything was fine. The living room was cleaned up, there was no smoke, and the only sound came from the television, where Don and Mikey were talking excitingly to each other. They looked up when the door opened.

"There you are!" Don exclaimed, grinning. "Hey, April! Casey!"

Mikey smiled.

Leo and Raph looked at them, at each other, and then let out relieved signs. Leo made his way to the steps.

"Hey, Leo!" Mikey called. "Where're ya' going?"

"Bed!" came the reply, and they all heard a door slam shut.

Raph shook his head and headed to the dojo, ready to work off the nerves that had built up over the past few days.

Don and Mikey snickered and turned to April and Casey.

"You wanna stay?!" Mikey asked. "We got popcorn!"

April and Casey exchanged looks, then bolted out the door and into the sewer. Behind them, as the door closed, they could hear the brothers' conversation pick back up.

"Seriously, Mike! Where did you get that green gloop?!"

"A magician never reveals his secrets, bro! What about my hovering skateboard?! Can we make that permanent?!"

"If you tell me how you hacked into my computer and implanted a virus, I'll make not only your skateboard fly, but I'll upgrade the battle shell too!"

"Only if you-"

Upstairs and in the dojo, Leo and Raph groaned. Nothing good ever comes even after all shell breaks loose.

* * *

Okay, so I _had_ to put _some_ Leo in there... It wouldn't be me otherwise :)

And I always wondered what would happen if Don and Mikey went at it. I mean, we hardly ever see them mad, and if they are, it's never at each other. Sure, Donny gets angry with Raph, and Mikey annoys his brothers so much, all of them would get angry with him at one time or another. But the two of them are so creative and clever, trying out out-do each other made me think.

And this is what happens when I get too much work: I procrastinate. And write this.

So PLEASE review! I'd like to know what you all think about this one!


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